Blood In Paradise
by quiet-heart
Summary: Five-0 has their hands full with a missing girl, a dangerous gun-runner, and a pissed off Agent Gibbs. Just another day in paradise, but if they don't find the girl, fast, there's going to be blood in paradise.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The plane had landed and she was awake. With red hair, fair skin, and grey eyes, the girl was attractive, to be sure, even with her hands bound behind her. She was tall, physically fit, and clearly mentally aware.

"You'll sell for a good price," said Liam Greenwald, touching her face before fingering a strand of her silky hair. "Maybe I'll keep you for myself, once I've broken you in."

She smiled but the fact that her smile didn't reach her eyes should have been his first warning. Then she kicked. Before anyone could stop her, she had kicked him in the groin, followed by a vicious side-kick to the side of his face that dropped him the rest of the way to the concrete floor. "And maybe you'll have a broken jaw," she replied coldly, looking at him. "At least something will be broken but it won't be me."

Embarrassed and angry, especially when Arboreal Omen chuckled and the surrounding men laughed, Greenwald stood up and suddenly backhanded the girl. She stumbled, groaning, but didn't fall. Then he grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look at him. "I am going to have so much fun hurting you, bitch."

"Not as much fun as I'm going to have kicking your ass around the room," she shot back.

He wanted to hit her again, but Omen stopped him. "We can't sell her if she's a mess," he reminded him. He jerked his head towards one of his men. "Take her to the back shed and secure her. She can stay there until our buyers come."

"As long as I get a crack at her," said Greenwald.

"Be patient; you'll get your chance," soothed Omen, watching as the girl was roughly dragged away, a satisfied smirk on her lips despite the rapidly-forming bruise on her face.

Dabi Moore-Gibbs could feel her heart pounding in her chest in perfect rhythm to her now-aching face where that looser had hit her. It had been a cheap shot, sure, but he now had her DNA on his ring, and that could be useful later. In the mean time, she was wherever she was and that meant she now had to bide her time and escape.

The man who was manhandling her across the airport glanced at her a few times, especially at her chest and a plan started coming to her mind, especially when her fingers found her knife. It was a US Navy SEALS Spring-Assisted Pocket Knife Rescue Tool that had been a gift from her friends, G. Callen and Sam Hanna. With a 3 3/4 inch stainless steel blade and a button on the side that allowed the blade to be opened quickly, she was sure it was more than up to the task of taking this guy down.

The trick would be getting at least one hand free and with the way he was looking at her, somehow she didn't think it was going to be much of an issue.

The shed was near the edge of a forest that over-looked a series of rocky hills. They would make perfect coverage for her once she escaped.

The guy entered the shed and glanced at her again. She smiled, and leaned back just a little bit, letting him see some of her cleavage. Yes, her stomach was rolling. Yes, her head hurt like crazy, as did her face, and yes she had a memory gap where she couldn't quite remember what happened in the parking lot of the grocery store where she had been with Quinn Hanna, Sam's wife. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to fight and fight hard.

The guy leered at her and came closer.

"You cut my hands free, and maybe I'll let you have a taste of what that looser didn't get," she suggested, a grin on her face. "I really don't like it rough and he scared me."

_Idiot._

He cut her hands free from the zip cord and she smiled.

Then she attacked. She wound up having to use her knife on him. She didn't want to, but he proved to be a bit stronger and heavier than she had anticipated, especially when he brought out his hunting knife.

Blood was everywhere, but the guy was dead.

Dabi stared at him, her hands starting to shake as the realization of what she had just done began to sink in.

Clutching the knife, she carefully stuck her head out the door and, seeing no one, ran frantically for the forest.

She didn't know how far or how fast she ran, only that she did, dimly remembering to fold her knife and put it in her pocket before she accidently stabbed herself with it.

Then she tripped.

And she fell.

And she fell and rolled for what seemed like a really long time before she finally stopped.

When she did, she had landed near a source of water. In pain and bleeding from various new cuts, Dabi tried to stand up, tried to keep moving, but she couldn't. It hurt too much.

Groaning, pulling herself away from the water, she collapsed on the ground. The sight of some beautiful hibiscus flowers were the last thing she remembered.

Then the darkness came.

_Five-O Headquarters:_

"We got a problem," said Commander Steve McGarrett as he strode into the room.

"You don't say," said Detective Sergeant Danny Williams, joining him. "Is your problem as serious as mine? 'Cause I'm betting it's as serious as mine or mine is more serious than yours."

"Talk," said Officer Kono Kalakaua. Detective Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly joined her.

"I just got a call from the governor. We're being asked to assist NCIS in finding a gun runner by the name of Arboreal Omen, who was last known to be on a flight to Hawaii. Here's the problem; he's kidnapped a girl who happens to be the daughter of an NCIS agent who was undercover at one of the stores Omen was using to smuggle his guns in with," said Steve.

"Which fits in with the call that I just got from our friends in L.A. Remember Callen and Hanna? They were the ones investigating and the daughter, Dabi, is the long-lost, recently-found daughter of an agent who is usually stationed in Washington, D.C," said Danny. "Seems she was in L.A. for a convention when she got bored, hooked up with Callen and his people, and witnessed a shooting, which lead to Omen, which lead to Daddy Dearest nearly having a heart attack and getting involved, which lead to an even bigger mess. They tried to take Omen down but Omen had already figured out who the undercover was and gone after Dabi. A few thumps here and there (I didn't ask for details) got them a location; here."

"Name?" Chin asked.

"Special Senior Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs," said Danny. "His daughter is Dabi Moore-Gibbs. Oh, and we've been warned; she's deaf and a scrapper. Seems Gibbs and his team taught his daughter everything they knew about fighting and shooting and she's a mean crack with a rifle. Plus, she's got a boyfriend who's studying to become one of Washington's finest."

Chin pulled up the files and the images. "She shouldn't be too hard to spot," he said, looking at her. "That red hair of hers could be seen miles away. What about her mother?"

"I asked and was simply told she had died when Dabi was eleven," said Danny.

"Drunk driver," said Chin, bringing up the information.

"And Gibbs has quite the file," said Kono, studying the large file on the NCIS agent. "He's a former Marine sniper who made Gunnery Sergeant before his first wife and daughter were killed by a Mexican drug lord while he was away during Operation Sandstorm. He's currently the senior agent for the Major Crimes Response Team in Washington and he's got an impressive arrest record."

"He's also on his way over," said Danny. "According to Sam, he should be on the flight coming from L.A. to the Honolulu Coast Guard Base, thanks to a few favors that were pulled."

"So what does the governor want us to do?" Kono asked.

"He wants us to help Gibbs, find the girl, and bring down Omen, who runs an extensive gun-running operation and shut this pipeline down," said Steve. "If we have to do it, do it, to quote him. Oh, and work with NCIS, which means being patient with Gibbs, who is known for being a mean bastard when he's pissed."

"Well someone just kidnapped his daughter," said Danny. "I don't know about you, but from a father's perspective, I'd be pretty pissed too."

"You were, when Grace got kidnapped. Remember?" Steve pointed out.

"Which means I can relate to Gibbs perfectly," said Danny, already planning to make a call to his daughter later. "We're going to have our hands full."

"Just another day in paradise," said Chin, grinning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The plane landed and Gibbs practically tore off his seatbelt before grabbing his gear and bolting off the plane. Waiting for him were two men, one with dark hair, a muscular build, and tattoos on his tanned forearms. The other man was blond with wide shoulders under his short-sleeve dress shirt. Both had badges and guns on their hips and both looked as if they meant business.

"Agent Gibbs?" the dark-haired man called.

"Yeah. You Five-0?" he asked.

"Commander Steve McGarrett. This is my partner, Detective Danny Williams. Welcome to Hawaii," the man said, offering his hand. "Callen spoke highly of you and we've received orders from Governor Denning to assist you in any way possible."

"This includes finding your daughter," said Danny, who had accepted Gibbs handshake. "We've already put out word to our contacts on the islands."

"They good?" Gibbs asked, walking with the men towards a silver Camaro.

"The best," Steve assured him. "A girl as pretty as she is, with red hair, she won't go unnoticed for long, trust me."

"Hanna said she had a knife with her, a spring-loaded rescue knife that he gave her as a gift because of her Rule Three, which is never leave home without your knife, phone, and dog," said Gibbs.

"Her dog?" Danny asked.

"A small terrier by the name of Gibor that she trained as a hearing dog," said Gibbs. "I sent him back to Washington to her grandparents, along with the kitten she'd rescued, a fuzzball she named Jed."

"And her phone?" Steve asked.

"Dropped, along with her purse, but apparently her knife was in her pocket at the time of the attack," said Gibbs. "Which is why we didn't find it at the scene of the kidnapping."

"What's she like?" Danny asked, knowing the best way to help Gibbs was to keep his mind off the what-ifs and focus on keeping her alive by giving them as much detail about his daughter as he could.

"A fighter. Always has been, even when I first met her after she witnessed the murder of a Navy officer. She managed to groin-kick two of my agents before Abby stopped her and convinced her we were on her side." He chuckled at the memory, watching the scenery go by as Steve drove through Honolulu on the way to Headquarters. "She lost her hearing to meningitis when she was six and her mom, Amanda, to a drunk driver when she was eleven. Her grandparents, Daniel and Sharee Shemo, who run Kranz Bakery, they pretty much raised her, even helped her get her first hearing dog, Azan. Azan died from cancer a few months back and she was devastated by it but then she found Gibor and that helped with the grieving."

"That must've been tough," said Danny. "You have custody of her?"

"No, she stays with her grandparents for now. Because I'm an agent, I'm not always home when I want to be and sometimes my job can be pretty dangerous. Dabi knows that, so we text pretty frequently, in between my cases, her school (she's attending college), her friends, and her work at the bakery, which she planned on taking over when her grandparents retired."

"Sam said you taught her how to fight," said Danny.

"I taught her, Ziva taught her, and she wrestles with my other two agents, DiNozzo and McGee. McGee has a sister of his own, so that's how he treats Dabi, like a sister. DiNozzo, on the other hand, he torments her with pranks but that's okay because she's pulled some fast ones on him that have left me cringing." He grinned as a memory surfaced. "She once put itching powder in his underwear drawer after Abby helped her get access to his apartment."

Both Steve and Danny cringed. "Who's Abby?"

"Abby Sciuto, my forensic specialist and Dabi's best friend," Gibbs explained. "It was because of Abby that I found out that Dabi was my daughter, when she was running DNA sample comparisons through the system." He smiled. "She helped Dabi get her first tattoo as soon as she was old enough. She even helped Dabi understand that despite my not knowing about her right away, I wasn't going to try and take her away from her grandparents. Abby can drive me nuts sometimes, but I love her just as much as anyone else." He rubbed his jaw. "Abby was pretty upset when I told her that Dabi had been kidnapped. Director Vance has my team on stand-by in case I need them down here. They pretty much adopted Dabi after we found out the truth about her."

"She's lucky," said Danny. "She clearly has a lot of people who care about her. It must be tough, her being deaf."

Gibbs shrugged. "We manage. I've been learning sign language, and so has the rest of my team, so we chat pretty often. Even her boyfriend, Eric, he's been learning. In fact, apparently that was how he managed to get friendly with Dabi, when he made the effort to learn sign language."

"He a good kid?" Steve asked.

"He better be; he's training to be a cop," said Gibbs.

"And you being Dabi's father, if he ain't good, he ain't going anywhere near her," said Danny. He grinned.

"You have a daughter?" Gibbs asked.

Danny held up his phone and showed the agent a picture of a pretty girl in a baseball uniform. "Grace. She's my world. Some douche bag kidnapped her last year as part of a really sick plot to get back at me for something I did to him while I was a cop in Jersey and I sort of went ballistic ("That's putting it mildly," Steve muttered) so I understand how you feel and trust me when I say we will do everything we can to find her."

At Five-0 Headquarters Kono and Chin were waiting for them and they had news.

"We may have a lead on Dabi," said Kono, after introductions were made. "HPD just found a body dumped on a road. Max, our coroner, is already having a look at it and, get this, he found a strand of red hair on it."

"Any sign of Dabi?" Gibbs asked.

"No, but there's an airport about ten miles from where the body was found and it boarders a forest," said Chin, pulling up a map. "Max knows we're looking for Dabi, which is why he alerted us to the red hair, and he says the initial examination of the body says Dabi put up a hell of a fight. It looks like she killed him in self-defence but he doesn't think she dumped the body. It's more likely someone else found the body and dumped it to keep HPD off their tail."

"The airport?" Gibbs asked.

Kono zoomed in on the airport. "Records indicate a private jet landed about an hour and a half ago, which is when Max thinks the body was dumped. There's a shed over here, and it would be a good place to put someone until they could be moved."

"I want a look at that shed," said Gibbs.

"I'll let HPD know to secure it," said Chin.

"And Max is already putting a rush on that strand of hair," said Kono. "As soon as he knows, we'll know."

"_Which isn't going to be soon enough_," Steve thought, seeing the look on Gibbs' face.

_In the woods:_

"We need to help her," said Mika, carefully examining the unconscious teenage girl. "Those bruises on her wrists, they're restraint bruises, and it looks like someone hit her pretty good."

"I wonder what happened," said Julie.

They had come across the battered young woman in the woods, who was laying still on the ground. She was cut, bruised, and had blood on her hands and clothes. Something bad had happened and all anyone could do was hope that it wasn't of a criminal nature.

"Any broken bones?" Julie asked.

"Nothing that says we can't move her," said Mika. "Hey Jonesey!"

A giant of a man came over. "You need me to move her, right?" he asked.

"Please. We'll put her in the van for now, until we get to our camp site, and then go from there," said Mika.

"Sure thing," said Jonesey. "Pretty little thing. Hope she's not in serious trouble."

"I think trouble found her and I think we need to help her," said Julie, watching as Jonesey carefully and tenderly lifted their new companion.

"And that's exactly what we're going to do, lover," said Mika, smiling reassuringly at her partner.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

She woke up, and came up swinging, yelling wildly. The wild swing just missed Mika, who was checking on her, and she scrambled towards the back of the tent that she had been placed in upon arrival at the small camp site.

"Who are you? Where am I?" she demanded, her hands flying.

Her speech wasn't quite right, like she couldn't hear herself. And the way her hands were moving, was that sign language? Mika wondered. Was the girl deaf?

Mika glanced at Julie, who had come running at the girl's yells. She had noticed it too.

"My name is Mika," said Mika, speaking carefully, keeping her hands in view. "We found you a few miles from here, and you look like you'd taken a pretty nasty fall. Do you remember who you are?"

The girl froze, her eyes searching. "Kelly... DiNozzo," she finally said.

There was something in her voice that told her she wasn't quite telling the truth. Having been an ER nurse previously before quitting due to burn-out, Mika was instantly suspicious.

"That's not your real name, is it?" she asked. "Can you remember what your real name is?"

Kelly hesitated and Mika carefully approached her, keeping her hands visible.

"It's okay if you don't remember. You took a pretty good head thump," she said. "Short-term memory loss can happen."

"I don't... I don't know," the girl admitted slowly. She swallowed, her eyes darting around the tent. "I don't remember my name and I don't remember where I am."

"And Kelly DiNozzo? Are they names that are familiar to you?" Mika asked.

"I think so, but I don't know why."

"That's okay," said Julie, carefully approaching. "We can call you Kelly until you remember who you are. Are you hungry? Jonesey went hunting and got a wild pig. It's been cooking slowly for a while and smells like it's ready now."

"Where am I?" Kelly asked, letting Mika put her arm around her shoulders.

"You're in Honolulu, Hawaii," said Mika.

"Hawaii?!" Kelly yelped. "But I shouldn't be! I should be... I should be where the White House is, I think."

"That's in Washington, D.C," said Mika. "Something happened that brought you here."

Kelly looked upset.

"You can stay with us for as long as you need to," said Julie. "We'll do what we can to help you."

"Let's start with getting you some clean clothes," said Mika. "The ones you're wearing are pretty dirty and look like they're covered in blood."

"What?!" Kelly yelped, looking down at her clothes, a dirt-and-blood-stained tank top and shorts. She saw what looked like a tattoo on the left side of her chest; a paw print with wings. _Huh?_ "Is that a dog paw print or a cat paw print? And is that the only tattoo I have?" she asked, looking at her arms and legs.

They got her shirt off and found out that yes, she did have more tattoos. There was a nice tribal design across her shoulders, with five small butterflies. The colors suggested they weren't brand new but they weren't old either. As for the one on her chest, it was determined to be a dog paw print.

"Maybe you lost a special friend," Julie suggested. "That looks like something someone would get in memory of their canine friend."

They found the knife and Kelly was tempted to get rid of it, but then she decided to hold on to it, despite the fact that it was covered in blood. It looked like a good, solid knife, with a carbide tip that could be used for breaking windows, and had a Navy symbol on it, a SEAL symbol, according to the quick information Julie was able to pull up on her Smartphone. She didn't know why or how, but she knew the knife was a gift, and that made it pretty special. A little cleaning up would get rid of the blood.

She had red hair, nice long red hair, and pretty grey eyes. She had a minor issue with acne, but it looked like she took care of herself and her teeth, which also suggested she ate reasonably well.

She had a nice claddagh ring on her right hand in the 'Taken' position, suggesting she was involved in a relationship with someone, but there was no way to tell if she was sexually active. She was tall, and her bra-size said she was a 34B, but because she was still young, in her late teens to early twenties, she was still growing, so that was likely to change as she got older, Mika told her.

A scar on her lower back told Mika she'd had spinal fluid removed. Combined with the hearing loss, this suggested possible meningitis as a child.

There was no indication of drug use on her arms, either recently or prior, but there was a needle mark on her neck, which suggested a possible tranquilizer. That would also explain the bruises on her wrist and the bruise on her face; she had been kidnapped and hit in the face at some point. During that time she'd clearly managed to escape.

But who? And why?

Some of the girls at the camp site kindly gave Kelly some clean clothes; a shirt and cargo shorts that showed off her long, slender legs. A brush through her hair helped get the tangles and the local vegetation out.

Outside the tent a group was gathered around what looked like a bonfire. The smell of cooking meat reached Kelly's nose and her stomach rumbled. Mika and Julie did say someone named Jonesey had caught a wild pig and it looked and smelled very tasty.

An elderly woman came up to Kelly and smiled. She held up a hibiscus flower and, before Kelly knew it, the woman had woven both her hair and the flower into her hair in an attractive braid.

There was roughly fifteen people at the camp site, ranging in age from their late teens to their early eighties.

"I'm a former ER nurse but I burnt out," Mika explained. "Julie, my partner, she's a former high school teacher until she burnt out as well."

"A lot of us live here peacefully," said Julie. "We haven't cut ourselves off completely from society, but we do live mostly off the grid and with the land. Jonesey, he's a big lug who fought with his temper and an alcohol problem, but he's doing better now. He's identified himself with the Hawaiian warriors and that's helped him find his peace. Some of us are just trying to find our way in this world."

"Others, like you, are lost and found us. We don't do drugs or alcohol, we don't deal with criminals, unless we're protecting someone who's on the run from criminals," said Mika. "Some of us sell hand-made jewelry and some of us work the fish markets, which brings us the occasional nibble. We all work together to keep this place safe."

Julie waved to a lanky man with a military crew-cut as he walked. "This is Jarvis," said Julie. "He's a former Marine suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome."

Kelly's brow furrowed as a memory surfaced. "I remember someone with grey, almost white, hair. I think he may have been a Marine too, a Gunnery Sergeant."

"Ma'am," said Jarvis, nodding politely at Kelly.

"Sir," she replied, nodding back.

"Jarvis teaches some of us hand-to-hand combat techniques," said Julie. "Maybe later, when you're a bit settled in, you could have a session with him. It might help you figure out a bit more about yourself."

"I'd like that, if you don't mind, Jarvis," said Kelly.

"Not a problem, ma'am," said Jarvis.

A young Hawaiian male joined them. His facial structure suggested an Asian ancestry mixed in with his Hawaiian heritage and he had a fascinating tattoo across one shoulder and bicep. With his dark, close-cut yet still shaggy hair, dark eyes muscular build, and easy grin, he was quite the looker and Kelly could feel something stirring within her that she didn't quite understand. When he turned that smile on her after saying something to Mika, she found herself blushing.

"You're our new resident, huh? I'm Tommy. Nice to meet you," he said. "I see Mama Lao was doing your hair again. She does that all the time." He jerked his head towards a group that was gathered near the roasting pig. "We're just about to dig in to the pig. Why don't you come join us?"

Kelly glanced at Mika and Julie, who nodded in reassurance. "Tommy's a good guy," Julie assured her. "You're safe here."

"I hope so," Kelly mumbled, following Tommy to the group.

_Five-0 Headquarters:_

Gibbs had wanted to see the crime scene where the body had been found and the possible shed. Steve and Danny had taken him there and he had surveyed the area carefully.

"Somebody dumped the guy but it wasn't Dabi," said Gibbs, looking around. "She doesn't know how to drive."

"That matches what the crime scene guys are saying," said Danny. "Someone dumped this guy from a moving vehicle and kept on going."

"What about that shed?" Gibbs asked.

"It's been located and there's a blood pool," said Steve.

"Let's go," said Gibbs.

At the shed, he looked around, taking in the place and anything he could spot that might lead him to his daughter. Steve held up an evidence bag an officer had given him.

"Cut plastic cuffs," he said. "I'm thinking the victim released Dabi and she turned on him."

"Signs of a fight," said Gibbs, pointing to a series of broken boxes.

"Not much blood," said Danny.

"She was taught not to use a knife in a fight unless she absolutely had to," said Gibbs. "She either managed to convince him to cut her free or he cut her free so he could have his way with her, but either way, she got her hands free. That was his first mistake."

"His second mistake was probably underestimating his would-be victim," said Danny. "I've seen the way Marines fight and if you trained her with the same methods as a Marine, she would have been quite the handful."

"There's a bloody hand print here," said Steve, pointing to the doorframe. "Foot prints in the dust suggested she hesitated before running, probably checking to see if anyone was watching."

"The woods. She would have headed for them," said Gibbs, going to the door and looking out. "She's been taught to use the woods as a means of cover if she needs to hide."

"And I'm betting she would have been running as fast as she could," said Danny. "She would have been scared, covered in blood from the fight, and probably shocked at having just killed some guy that wanted to get friendly with her and not in a good way."

Gibbs nodded. That made sense. He'd seen that particular scenario often enough with frightened self-defense victims. Dabi had been trained to fight and to survive and survive she would, even if it meant shedding blood in the process.

"If she was brought here, that means the plane landed here," said Gibbs, heading for the forest to try and find his daughter's tracks.

"Already on that," said Steve, phone to his ear. He listened intently, following Gibbs, with Danny right beside him. Then, after thanking the person on the other end, hung up. "About two hours before the body was found, there was a private jet that came in. It used that hangar over there." He pointed to a nearby hangar where a sleek Boeing VIP 757 sat nearby. "It belongs to a company by the name of, get this, _Daytona Imports_."

"And D_aytona Imports_ is one of the shell companies owned by Arboreal Omen," said Gibbs, having studied the file on Omen front to back, every word, every letter, every tiny detail that might help him find the bastard who took his daughter. "We need to see that plane."

"We'll get a warrant," Steve promised, already back on the phone to Chin, who promised to get on it right away.

"She went this way," said Gibbs, studying the ground as he entered the forest. "She ran."

"We're going to need gear," said Danny, sighing heavily. "And I'm going to need to change my shoes." Gibbs looked at him and Danny held up his hands. "Alright, alright, I'm going. I'll get the gear and meet you back here. Just stay put. You may be Mr. Big NCIS Guy and you could probably run circles around me in terms of tracking, but this is not your territory; it is, however, Steve's, and before you do something stupid, like get hurt, which would be really fun to explain to both your director and to our beloved governor, give me a minute to get the gear and we'll start tracking her before we get out of cell phone range with the rest of the civilized world."

As he headed at a fast trot back to the Camaro, Gibbs looked at Steve, who just grinned and shook his head.

"He always like that?" Gibbs asked.

"He's from Jersey; I can't even get him to have a pizza with pineapple on it," Steve said. "He's a good guy and a good cop and if he thinks someone's going to hurt his daughter, we're all in trouble."

"Sounds like me," said Gibbs. His phone beeped and he glanced at it; it was a message from Abby. He sighed patiently and checked it. "Abby and McGee have been digging through the NCIS database to try and find out who was looking at my file before things went to hell in a hand basket."

"Any luck?"

"Yeah; Abby says the trace is leading back to here, Hawaii, but she's demanding to know if I know anything yet."

"What are you going to tell her?" Steve asked.

"That as soon as I know, they'll know. In the mean time, keep digging. Apparently Vance has them on stand-by."

"They sound like good people."

"They are, and they accepted Dabi better than I thought." He glanced towards the woods, worry in his eyes.

"We'll find her," Steve promised. "One way or another, we'll find her."

_Washington, DC._

"When I know, you'll know," said Abby, reading the text message from Gibbs. "Keep digging. Find the bastard."

"So we keep digging," said Timothy McGee. "There has to be a reason why Omen headed for Hawaii, of all places."

"And if you have to head there, you're not going without me," said Eric Armstrong, who had joined them, a whimpering Gibor in his arms. He had been appraised of the situation and was with them at their desks. "She's my girlfriend and I'm getting tired of not being able to do anything when she gets herself into trouble."

"She didn't get herself into trouble," Abby fired back. "Trouble found her!"

"Just like it found her when she was on vacation in Stillwater," Eric groused.

"She's a Gibbs; what do you expect?" said Tony DiNozzo absently.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," grumbled Eric. "I was under the impression the conference was just supposed to be some gathering thing for deaf students that Dabi had gotten invited to. Next thing I know, she's being shot at and she apparently shot back at the guys doing the shooting in the first place. Whatever happened to a nice, normal trip?"

"When you're the child of a federal agent, there is no such thing as normal," said Ziva. "Even as a child, when my father was a Mossad agent, things were not 'normal', as you put it. Events like this, they are part of Dabi's life, and if you cannot accept that, then I suggest you find another girlfriend, one whose parents are not federal agents."

Eric caught the look on the three agents faces, which was identical to the look on Abby's face, and wisely shut up. But it did get him thinking though. Could he handle this if this really was part of Dabi's life? Before, sure, yeah. He was all gung-ho about it, but now, after studying to be a cop and seeing reality, he wasn't so sure any more.

"Those two are heading for Splitsville, and Dabi doesn't even know it," Abby mumbled to Tim.

"He breaks her heart, I'm going to break him," Tim mumbled back, fingers flying over his keyboard.

"Not if Gibbs gets there first."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

They had tracked Dabi as far as they could before her tracks lead to a road. Someone had found her, picked her up, and carried her to a vehicle which had been on a paved road. That was where they lost the trail.

"This is a main road and it connects to about half a dozen other roads," said Steve, studying the map on his phone. "Someone found her, a big someone who was with two smaller someone's, possibly females, and I'd say they took her somewhere, hopefully somewhere safe."

"That was a seriously nasty fall she took back there," said Danny. "Hope she's okay. Think our favorite big guy might know something?"

"Wouldn't surprise me," said Steve.

"In English please," Gibbs snapped.

"One of our informants is Kamekona

Tupuola

, a big guy who knows a lot of people and has a lot of family on the islands," Steve explained. "He runs a shrimp truck, shaved ice place, and a tourist helicopter service. If Dabi is with someone, we'll find out about it, most likely through him."

"As reluctant as I am to admit this, he's also a friend we've come to trust," said Danny. "Steve's right; if someone's going to hear about Dabi, it'll be Kamekona. Just stay away from his garlic shrimp."

"Bad?" Gibbs asked.

"Good, if you don't mind using breath mints and mouth wash for the next week," said Danny.

Steve smirked, listening, as he spoke to Kamekona on his phone. "Yeah, red hair, butterfly tattoos across her shoulders, tall, pretty, and eighteen. Oh, and deaf. And probably mad as hell, if her father's personality is any indication. Her father is NCIS and a former Marine, so she's been trained to fight. Her tracks say she was picked up by a heavy man and two women after taking a bad fall, so she may be injured. She'll also probably have a knife on her that has the US Navy SEAL mark on the handle and is a good quality knife."

He hung up after a moment. "Kamekona's promised to get the word out. He doesn't like it when kids get hurt. He likes it even less when they're daughters of what he calls great warriors." His phone rang and he glanced at it; Charlie Fong. "Yeah, Charlie, what's up?"

Charlie Fong was a forensic specialist who had a habit of fast-forwarding things on their behalf. He was good and honest, and this time he had answers.

"_Just ran preliminary tests on that blood that was in the shed. It's not matching the missing girl, which is a good thing, but Max did find blood on the victim's knuckles which are a blood-type match to her. He got in a punch at one point_."

"And the hair?"

"_Still running, but early indicators suggest it belonged to a female; there was hair spray on it. And the color? All red; the hair isn't dyed. I'm running tests on the cuffs and I'm not much of a betting guy but I will bet I'll find her DNA on it_."

"Okay, keep me posted." Steve hung up and turned to Gibbs and Danny. "Charlie Fong, our forensic expert, says the blood in the shed doesn't match Dabi but the victim did get in a shot to Dabi because her blood is on his knuckles." Gibbs scowled. "As for the hair, preliminary tests are saying it belongs to a female with natural red hair; Charlie found hair spray on it and the strand isn't dyed."

"Dabi," said Gibbs.

"More and more likely. Let's head back. We've got the word out and that's a start," said Steve. "The best thing we can do right now is find out who ratted you out. We find out who, we find out how Omen got to the island in the first place."

"And the plane?"

"If Chin can't get it, we'll yell at the Governor," said Danny. "Wouldn't be the first time. He wants Omen just as badly as we do, but for different reasons."

_At the camp:_

Night was falling. As Kelly watched people go about their business, memories came to her.

She remembered playing _Twister_ with a little girl with dark hair and dark eyes. Amira. Amira was special to her but she couldn't remember why.

Dogs. Two of them. One was big, with gold fur, and one was small, like a little Russell Terrier. Both wore orange jackets.

Faces she couldn't place. Events that had no meaning. Words that made no sense.

She remembered baking and could almost smell the tantalizing smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Apples, peaches, even blueberries... and coffee. Coffee was important to the man with white hair.

Tommy had been kind to her and made sure she'd eaten. The meat had been really good and one of the elders had placed a wool shawl across her shoulders that kept her warm in the cooling air.

Now she sat by the fire in front of the tent that Julie and Mika were calling home and watched people go by.

She wished she could remember her name, where she was from, things like that. Something bad had happened to her but she couldn't remember what and she was afraid it was important. In the morning, Mika and Julie were going to take her to Five-O Headquarters and try and get her some real help.

Five-O was apparently a special police task force that had a reputation for being good at their job and being kind but tough. They would make sure she didn't get lost in the system like so many other people did.

Then she noticed something; a commotion. There was trouble. Afraid it was someone looking for her who would hurt her, she quickly moved to the shadows.

It was a group of young men and she could smell alcohol. As she watched, they attacked members of the camp, destroying things, and generally acting like bullies.

She knew what to do.

Moving through the shadows, she suddenly attacked. The moves came easily to her. She didn't think. She simply did.

Shawn watched from the safety of the trees. Kelly, the girl with red hair, she was attacking the group of young men who had come to hassle the camp members, as was common. She had emerged from the shadows of the camp fires as quietly as a swooping bird of prey, and attacked with the swiftness of a skilled warrior. Her moves were fluid, natural, and brutal.

Somehow she wound up with an axe handle in her hand, which was missing the head, and it had become an extension of her hands.

The fight was over in minutes. The men ran. Kelly caught one of them and introduced his face to a tree before spinning him around to face her. Joined by several of the other camp members, she kept a grip on the young man, who was bleeding from cuts on his face and a broken nose.

"Hear me and hear me now. These people were not harming you. You leave them alone. I catch you stupid _mizdayens_ around again and this beating will seem tame in comparison. Am I understood?"

Shawn didn't know what mizdayen meant but the way Kelly used it suggested it was an insult. What language, he didn't know, and suspected it might be a clue about her background, one word was she didn't remember.

The young man nodded, terror in his eyes.

She let him go.

He ran and he didn't look back.

One of the elder women came up to her, respect in her movements. "You are _pueo koa_, a guardian owl warrior," she said.

"I'm just a girl who can't remember who I am," said Kelly.

"That will come," said the woman. "Come, Pueo Koa, the wounded need our attention and you have much to learn."

A young man going by the name of Pete joined Shawn. "Those were some seriously wicked moves she pulled, man."

"Yes, like the warriors of old," said Shawn.

"I would _love_ to do something on her skin, and not in a guy way, but in a purely artist way," said Pete. Pete was a tattoo artist and a good one, who was studying the ancient Hawaiian tattoos. He often did tattoos for those in the camps, in exchange for things like food or clothing.

"She is going to need our help," said Shawn.

"Visions again?" Pete asked.

Shawn was a studying spiritual shaman. He occasionally had visions during his meditations and this last time, he had seen a warrior with red hair emerge from the fires, a warrior who had not looked complete. A voice had whispered she would need help to fight a great enemy of the lands but that she would not remember parts of herself. He had seen and heard an owl screeching as it flew overhead and when the elder mother had called Kelly _Pueo Koa_, he had known she was the girl.

"Yes," was all Shawn said.

"Good enough for me, man," said Pete, having learned a long time ago to accept his friend's visions.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

They came in the early hours of the morning, with guns and rough hands. They said they were looking for a girl with red hair and if she wasn't found, a lot of people were going to get hurt, especially if anyone was found hiding her.

Mama Lao had woken her and Julie and Mika and they had vanished into the woods. Tommy and Jarvis were with them, as Kelly had fallen asleep next to Tommy during the night.

"Your red hair stands out like a sore thumb," rumbled Jarvis.

"So cut it and find me some hair dye," Kelly hissed back.

"That's not such a bad idea," said Mika. "We were planning to take you into town anyway. We can cut your hair and give you a dye job there."

"But we're going to have to move fast," said Julie. "These guys mean business and the sooner we get you to Five-O, the better."

"Can they be trusted?" asked Kelly.

"They're the best of the best and I've heard stories of them pulling off the impossible," said Jarvis. "One of them, McGarrett, is a Navy SEAL reservist." He took out a large knife and approached Kelly. Within seconds her once-long hair was cut to below her ears. "That'll make it easier to hide under a hat," he said. "Scissors will fine-tune it later."

Tommy quickly dug a hole in the soft ground and buried her hair in it. "Pete wants to do a tattoo for you," he said. "It would help hide you better, especially if it's on your arm."

"Fine, as long as it looks like yours," Kelly said.

"I think he's got something in mind you'll like."

"The faster, the better," said Kelly. "You guys are already in danger because of me and I don't want anyone to get hurt trying to help me."

Mama Lao gently took Kelly's face in her weathered hands and made her look at her. "You are safe, child. You have friends here. Understand this, if people are hurt, it is not on you. It is on those haoles who hurt people."

"That doesn't mean I'm not going to do everything I can to stop them from hurting you," protested Kelly.

"I would expect nothing less from a Pueo Koa," said Mama Lao.

"They're gone," said Jarvis, having been watching and listening. "Let's go."

Despite the morning interruption, Pete was eager to work on Kelly and he did, in fact, have a design for her for her arm. Kelly loved it, as it was of old Hawaiian design, and done in simple black ink. He was finished within an hour and a half. While he worked, another girl, Anna, worked on Kelly's hair, tidying it up from Jarvis' quick hack job.

The plan was simple. Kelly would go with Jonesey, Tommy, Mika, and Julie to Five-O Headquarters after picking up some hair dye and dying her hair dark brown to black, which would stand out less. As they traveled, Tommy would act like Kelly was his girlfriend, which wasn't hard to do, considering the attraction the two young people felt.

As Jonesey loaded up the truck with stuff he was taking to the market for trade, Tommy pulled Kelly aside.

"You going to be okay?" he asked.

"As long as no one else gets hurt, I'll be fine," she said, letting him wrap his arms around her. She liked how his muscles felt under her hands and she really liked how he smelled. After the attack last night, he hadn't let her go too far from his sight and she'd wound up falling asleep on his shoulder. It had felt good.

"Here," he said, reaching into his pocket. "If you're going to blend in with the locals, it wouldn't hurt to wear something local." _It_ was a brown cord necklace with painted beads, polished shell pieces, and a shark tooth woven on to it. "I don't know what's going to happen, but if you decide to stay on the islands, I would love to see more of you," he said after helping her put the necklace on.

Kelly looked up at him and heat flared. She didn't understand it, given the ring on right hand, but she knew that if she died, then she at least wanted a kiss from this guy. He made her feel safe in a world where she wasn't so sure she was safe.

He could see it in her eyes.

He wasn't sure who started it, but he knew who ended it; Julie, when she called to them, telling them it was time to go. Blushing, Kelly followed Tommy into the truck, ignoring the smirk on  
Julie's and Mika's faces.

The dye job took an hour, and by the time they were done, Kelly's once pretty red hair was now a dirt-brown color, with streaks of black in it. Tucked under a grubby Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors hat, she looked like any other local.

Kelly wasn't sure how it happened, but suddenly someone started shooting, and then Jonesey went down, having been shot three times. Eyes wide, watching from her hiding place, she realized it was the men from earlier that morning. They were back and they were hunting.

Before Tommy could stop her, she grabbed her backpack, which had her knife and a change of clothes in it, and she ran. _No one else was going to get hurt because of her._ _No one._

_Five-0 Headquarters:_

"There's been a shooting down by the farmer's market," said Kono. "One of the suspects was recognized as a member of a gang connected to Omen."

"Who was hurt?" Steve asked.

"A local by the name of Jonesey," Kono said, pulling up the file. "Big man, big temper, former alcoholic, but went off the grid when he joined this camp, which just happens to be within the radius of the road you lost track of Dabi on. And get this; two witnesses are asking for Five-0. They say they know something and will only talk to us."

"Which fits in with what I heard," said a very obese, bald-headed man, who joined them.

"You are?" Gibbs asked.

"Kamekona, at your service," said Kamekona. "You, sir?"

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. What did you hear?"

"A group of campers found a girl matching the description of the missing girl. She had red hair, a butterfly tattoo across her shoulders, and a knife. She was also covered in blood, cuts, and bruises and speculation is she may have been kidnapped and escaped. She doesn't remember who she is."

"You get a name?" Steve asked.

"She calls herself Kelly DiNozzo but others are calling her Pueo Koa, _Owl Warrior._"

"Owl Warrior? Why?" Danny asked, not seeing the way Gibbs' eyes went wide at the name.

"What does Kelly DiNozzo mean to you?" Steve quietly asked Gibbs, having seen the look.

"Kelly was my first daughter, Dabi's sister, who died some years before, and DiNozzo is the last name of one of my agents," said Gibbs.

"I remember you mentioning DiNozzo," said Steve, nodding in remembrance.

"Because of the way she attacked a bunch of stupid haoles who tried to attack the camp. They say she fought like a warrior and there's a guy who said some of her moves were like that of a Marine," said Kamekona, ignoring Steve and Gibbs.

"That's my daughter," said Gibbs. "That's not a coincidence."

"You are the father of the great Owl Warrior?" Kamekona asked, looking at Gibbs with new respect.

"Yeah. Where's the camp? I want to talk to these people," said Gibbs.

"I can take you there, Great Sir," said Kamekona, eager to be in the presence of someone who was clearly as great a warrior as Steve McGarrett.

"Do it," said Steve. "In the mean time, we'll check out the shooting. Maybe our witnesses heard or saw something that might tell us where to find Dabi."

At the market people were already cleaning up the aftermath of the shooting. While Chin and Kono talked to the locals, Steve and Danny were directed to an ambulance. Hidden in the ambulance were three people; two women and a teenage boy, who gave their names as Mika, Julie, and Tommy.

"You Five-0?" Tommy demanded.

"We are," said Steve, holding up his badge. "I'm Commander Steve McGarrett and this is my partner, Detective Danny Williams. You said you had some information for us?"

"We know about a girl with red hair whom we found yesterday. She was cut and bruised pretty badly and we took her in," said Mika.

"You get a name?" Danny asked.

"She doesn't remember," said Julie. "She took a pretty good hit to the head and can't remember her identity. She's been calling herself Kelly DiNozzo because the names feel familiar."

"This her?" Steve asked, holding up his phone, which had a picture of Dabi Gibbs had given him.

All three nodded. "She's had her hair cut and dyed, though," said Tommy. "And she has a new tattoo on one arm."

"Where is she?" Danny asked.

"We don't know. After the shooting started, she took off running, and I couldn't stop her," said Tommy. "Do you know what her real name is?"

"Dabi Moore-Gibbs," said Steve. "She's eighteen and from Washington, DC."

"That explains her memory of the White House," said Mika. "She mentioned bits and pieces, but nothing concrete."

"We were trying to bring her to you when the shooting started and Jonesey got hit," said Julie.

"You know why the shooting happened?" Danny asked.

"Someone got in Jonesey's face and he got mad," said Tommy. "Kelly, sorry, Dabi, said it was the same guys who hassled us this morning at the camp. It looked like them, too. I think that's why she ran, and if that's the case, then if you do find her, be prepared for a fight. We had a bunch of drunk guys show up last night and Dabi beat the crap out of them when they started hassling us. She made an axe handle seem like an extension of her arm."

"That good, huh?" Steve asked.

"Jarvis, our local Marine, who's staying at the camp because of PTSD, says she's been trained by a Marine but she had a few moves he's never seen before," said Julie. "That's why Mama Lao and a couple of the elders started calling her Pueo Koa, Owl Warrior."

"Shawn, our resident shaman, said she was a warrior who wasn't complete and she was going to need help fighting the battle to stop an enemy of the land," said Mika. "Apparently he saw her in a vision, and after the way she fought last night, he was convinced his vision was about her."

"You have to find her," said Julie. "Please. Someone is after her and I'm afraid she's going to get hurt trying to stop these people."

"We will, I promise," said Steve.

"And we'd better do it fast," Danny muttered as they walked away. "It sounds like this girl is on flight or fight and someone is bound to get hurt in the process."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

With the recent shooting and shooting victim, Honolulu PD was on edge, and Sergeant Duke Lukela was even more troubled when he learned who should have been the victim.

"She's going by Kelly DiNozzo and she's going to be scared and ready to fight," said Steve, showing him the picture. "Word is her hair is short and brown now, with a new tattoo on one arm."

"The fun part is she's been trained by her daddy, who happens to be a former Marine, and apparently one of her friends was in the Israeli army, which means she's been well taught," said Danny.

"You're kidding me, right?" Duke asked, disbelief on his aged face. Both men shook their heads. Duke sighed heavily. "And my wife wonders why I buy so much antiacids," he grumbled, gesturing towards the other officers for a quick group meeting. Chin and Kono joined them.

"Witnesses were too busy ducking bullets to see where she went," said Chin.

"Same here," said Kono.

"No surprise there," said Danny. "That's what most sane people would do."

"Okay, boys and girls, we're looking for a young woman with short brown hair, a new tattoo on one arm, and running scared," said Duke, addressing the officers. "Her name is Kelly DiNozzo and she needs to be taken into protective custody with Five-0."

"Watch your step, guys; according to the information we have, her real name is Dabi Moore-Gibbs and she doesn't remember who she is but she does know how to fight, even if it's instinctively," Chin said, addressing the officers. "That's why some locals have given her the name Pueo Koa, which means Owl Warrior in Hawaiian."

"And from what NCIS said, she's been taught methods used by NCIS, the Marines, SEALS, and even Mossad and the Israeli army," said Kono. "Plus her boyfriend is training to become a cop and you wanna bet he's taught her a few things?"

"So you're saying she may hurt one of us?" one cop asked.

"We're saying keep her training in mind and try to get her to realize we're not here to hurt her," Steve shot back. "Someone is trying to kill her and she knows it, which means she's going to fight. If you see her, try to talk to her but be prepared to defend yourself in hand-to-hand combat."

"And remember; she's deaf!" Danny fired off.

Thus began a methodical search of the nearby buildings. Half an hour later, Steve entered an abandoned warehouse that was a good fifteen minutes away from the site of the original shooting.

She struck without warning. Steve only just saw the board coming towards him out of the corner of his eye and moved fast enough out of the way that the board, a simple two-by-four, caught him a glancing blow on the shoulder and nearly causing him to lose his gun.

He spun to face his attacker. Even with her hair cut short and dyed a dirty brown, and a new tattoo on one arm, he recognized her. It was Dabi Moore-Gibbs.

"I found her!" he called frantically over his com set.

"_Don't do anything stupid!_" Danny called back.

"I may not have a choice in the matter!" Steve shot back, ducking away from the board Dabi had just swung at him again, seeming to disregard the fact that he had a gun in his hands. Then she swung again, murder in her pretty eyes, he blocked the board and grabbed it, putting his gun away with his other hand, before he accidentally shot her. She didn't let go but suddenly moved in and kicked sideways, towards his knee. He turned sideways and the kick glanced off his thigh muscle. That was the beginning.

Steve really didn't want to hurt her, but when the punches and kicks started to connect, he realized she was playing for keeps and he was going to have to up his game. Not only that, but Gibbs had been right; Dabi had been well-taught. If she hadn't been seriously trying to hurt him, he might have actually enjoyed the battle.

"Steve!" Danny yelled.

Steve didn't quite block Dabi's well-aimed punch and the next thing he knew, she had him in a headlock and his gun pressed to his temple.

"Danny! Back off!" Steve cried, as his partner came around the corner, Kono and Chin not far behind.

"She's got his gun on him!" Kono cried, having come from behind and suddenly ducked around the corner upon seeing the situation.

"Tell everyone to back off!" Steve yelled frantically, struggling to maintain his balance, balance that Dabi was deliberately keeping him off of.

But Danny didn't back off. He knew what to do. Dabi didn't need a cop talking to her; she needed a parent, and he was the only one out of the entire Five-0 group that could do that. Not only that, but last night he'd found a book on sign language and done some reading and practicing. If Dabi was deaf and using sign language, he reasoned, it wouldn't hurt to know a few of the basics, like the letters, numbers, and even a few simple signs.

He raised his gun in a submissive posture, taking his finger off the trigger. With Dabi and everyone watching closely, Danny laid his gun on the ground.

He patted his chest and said carefully, "My name is Danny." Then he finger-spelled his name. "I want to be your friend. I will not hurt you." Somehow he managed to remember the sign for _friend_. "I know who you are. Your name is Dabi." He finger-spelled _Dabi_.

Dabi's brow furrowed.

"How do you know me?" she demanded. "I don't remember you!"

"We've never met, but your dad is looking for you. I'm a cop," Danny replied, putting his right hand in a _C_ facing left, and tapping it against his heart, the sign for _cop_ or _policeman_. He removed the shield that was on his hip and held it up. "I'm part of a special Hawaiian task force called Five-0. So is the dummy you are holding the gun on." Said gun never wavered from its place at Steve's head but Danny could see he had Dabi's attention. "Julie said you were coming to see us. I know you've been hiding, sweetheart, and I know you don't understand what's going on, but that's okay. I have some of the answers to your questions, like who Kelly really is, and why DiNozzo feels familiar to you. We know what happened at the airport and it wasn't your fault, baby girl, I swear," Danny continued, slowly approaching her, keeping his hands visible. "I know you're scared and I want to help you, just like Mika and Julie did. They told me how they found you and about the guys who came to the camp earlier. So did Tommy. They even told us about what happened to Jonesey."

"I don't know who I am! I don't know why someone is trying to kill me! For all I know, it could be you!" Dabi said frantically, pulling Steve backwards, towards an exit.

"No, baby, I give you my word, we're on your side," Danny said. He reached out and put it on a nearby table before backing away from it. "Let that turkey go, please. He's my partner and sadly, I'm the only one allowed to kill him. You can keep his gun if it makes you feel safer, but that's my badge and it's proof I'm telling you the truth." He watched as Dabi worried her lip with her teeth. Then she made her choice.

She suddenly moved the gun away from Steve's head, planted her foot on his ass and sent him tumbling away from her, before snatching up Danny's badge, all the while keeping the gun aimed at Danny.

The badge felt familiar, especially the eagle. Was Danny telling the truth? The words _Hawaii Five-O_ were etched into the badge and underneath was the word _Detective_. Another badge flashed through her mind, this one with the letters _N-C-I-S_ on it.

"What does NCIS mean?" she demanded, watching as Danny came closer.

"Naval Command Investigative Service," said Danny. "Your dad's an NCIS agent. He's also a former Marine and he taught you how to fight and how to shoot. So did the rest of his team, including Tony DiNozzo, whom you seem to have a rather odd love-hate relationship with."

The gun wavered. A face flashed through her mind, one of a grinning white male with brown eyes and brown hair. Tony DiNozzo; the name felt familiar.

"Why is someone trying to kill me?" she demanded. "What happened to me?" Try as she might to prevent them, the tears started sliding down her face. She was hungry, tired, and a bit cold. This damp weather wasn't exactly summery.

Danny came closer, sensing she was starting to crack. "I don't know completely what happened to you at the airport, sweetheart, but I swear on my life we are not the ones trying to kill you. I swear."

The gun dropped slowly as if it were a ton of metal Dabi could no longer keep holding up, and her shoulders slumped.

"Give me the gun and I will gladly, gladly, gladly tell you whatever you want to know about yourself, as much as I know," Danny said.

She looked at him, sniffling, bit her lip, and then nodded slowly. She took her finger out of the gun's trigger and held it up, allowing Danny to take it and pass it back to Steve. She then found herself being enfolded in a comforting hug by Danny that, oddly enough, felt good.

"I want to go home, but I don't know where home is," she mumbled tiredly, closing her eyes.

She didn't see the half-dozen HPD officers putting their weapons away, seeing that she was no longer a threat, nor did she see Kono and Chin join up with Steve, who had picked up Danny's gun.

"That idiot is going to get himself killed one day," one officer muttered, glaring at Danny.

"This idiot just saved my partner's ass, which, by the way, had his own gun pressed to his head, courtesy of an eighteen year-old girl!" Danny shot back, not letting go of Dabi. When Dabi suddenly shivered, Danny snapped, "Find this girl a jacket so we can get her out of here without someone else taking a pop-shot at her! She's freezing!"

Dabi lifted her head up and looked at Danny. "I have a backpack I want to get; it's got some stuff in it I don't want to lose."

"That's fine, sweetheart. Where is it?" Danny asked. She pointed to the rafters of the warehouse. "You lead, I follow."

"You lie, you die," said Dabi.

"That's what my ex-wife used to say to me all the time," said Danny easily.

"I'll call Gibbs and let him know we found Dabi," said Kono, moving off to one side and pressing her phone to her ear.

"Yeah, and Mika and Julie were right; she doesn't remember who she is," said Chin.

"She may not remember, but she sure packs a hell of a punch," said Steve, rubbing his aching jaw.

Suddenly, Kono came back, a worried look on her face. "Gibbs and Kamekona were just at Mika and Julie's camp site, and Gibbs said we need to send Max over there. Someone's hunting Dabi and they just found out where she's been staying."

"Danny!" Steve yelled. "Get Dabi to Headquarters and do not stop for anything! Someone just went after Mika and Julie and Gibbs is saying we're going to need to call in Max!"

"Aw hell," Danny mumbled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Jarvis the Marine had been shot. Word was he was in critical condition and so were two others. Several others were seriously hurt but they would be okay. That could not be the same for two of the attackers that Jarvis had managed to kill in the fight. The attackers were the same men who had been there earlier in the day and this time they meant business. Jarvis and the others had fought back and they had lost.

Dabi had been told of the fight and she had demanded to be taken to the hospital where Jonesey and Jarvis were.

"Either you take me or I'll get there myself," she told Danny.

Danny glanced at her, busy driving back to Headquarters, and realized she was serious. He sighed heavily and hit the speed-dial on his phone.

"_Yeah, Danny?_" Steve asked.

"We have a very stubborn girl insisting she be taken to the hospital where Jarvis and Jonesey are," said Danny. "She's saying either I take her there or she'll take herself there."

"_Oh boy_," said Steve.

"As long as she's with one of us, and after that fight I just saw, I think we'll be safe there. Tell Gibbs we'll meet him there. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to have a doctor look at her, especially with Mika mentioning a head injury," said Danny.

"_All right, do it. We'll meet you there_," said Steve.

Danny hit the Off button on his phone and changed direction. "We'll head for the hospital, but there's a catch involved," he said.

"Okay," said Dabi.

"You get checked out by a doctor. Mika said you had a head injury. I want to be sure there are no lasting effects," said Danny.

"Fine," said Dabi. "What about my dad?"

"Steve said he'll meet you there."

"Wish I could remember him. What about my mom? Do I have any brothers or sisters?"

"Your mom died when you were eleven and you are an only child, although Gibbs did mention you have a godsister."

"Who's Kelly?"

"Your half-sister, who died before you were born. Gibbs said she's one of the butterflies on your back."

"And the others?"

"Your grandparents, who pretty much raised you after your mom died, and your mom."

"Do they work in a bakery?"

"They work and apparently own a bakery, one that you had clear plans to take over one day."

"That explains the memory of cinnamon and nutmeg and apricots," said Dabi.

"Seems you're quite the baker yourself. Your dad says you do a mean coffee cheesecake, and he's a coffee addict."

"I think I am too," said Dabi, eyeing one of the coffee shops that specialized in iced coffee.

"Apparently you are."

"What about the dog paw print?"

"From what I understand, you had a dog named Azan, who was your constant companion since you were twelve. He was trained as a Hearing Dog but died earlier this year from cancer. You took his death pretty hard."

"Was he a terrier?"

"No, that's probably Gibor, the dog you found in Stillwater, while you were on vacation with your dad, shortly after Azan's death. Azan was a Golden Retriever and Gibor is a Russell Terrier mix."

"That explains the memories." Then her brow furrowed. "Who is Jed?"

"A kitten who walks on his elbows that Gibor found in Los Angeles. Seems he's missing the bones in his forearms. Your dad sent both of them back to Washington to your grandparents."

"That's good, I suppose."

They arrived at the hospital and were quickly ushered through. An intern doctor gave Dabi a preliminary examination and determined her to be in good health, aside from a nasty bruise on her head but assured her that her memory would return in time, seeing that parts of it already were.

"What about Jarvis? The Marine from the camp?" Dabi demanded.

"I'll find out what I can," the intern promised. He was back a few minutes later, a worried look on his face. "He's in surgery right now," he said.

"You don't look too optimistic about that," said Danny.

"He was critical when he came in," said the intern, his name tag reading _Adams_. "I'm not an expert, but I am seriously concerned about him surviving the surgery."

"He has to!" said Dabi. "He's a Marine! They keep fighting even when the rest of us have given up!"

"But he's also human, and there's only so much the human body can take, Marine or not," Adams reminded her gently.

"Dabi!" Gibbs yelled, charging into the Emergency Room, looking around frantically.

"Sounds like your father is looking for you," said Adams. He stuck his head out of the examination tent and caught Gibbs attention. "She's over here, sir, and she's fine."

Gibbs charged into the tent and froze when he saw his daughter sitting on the bed. She looked at him, tilting her head almost quizzically. Memories came to her. "Can I see your badge?" she asked.

It was an odd question but Gibbs was willing to do whatever it took. He handed her his badge and watched as she fingered it, studying it. Then she looked up at him, recognition in her eyes.

"I'm surprised your phone isn't vibrating itself stupid," she said. "Abby would be frantic."

"She is," he said. "They're demanding to come down as soon as I find you."

She nodded and handed him back his badge but he didn't accept it. Instead, he hugged her, tightly and was relieved when she hugged him back just as tightly.

"Jarvis is in surgery and Dr. Adams isn't sure if he's going to make it," said Dabi.

Gibbs waited until she was looking at him before saying, "Then we'll wait for him."

They waited in the Waiting Room for nearly an hour before another doctor, this one in scrubs, came into the room. After speaking with the head nurse, he came over to them.

"Are you Kelly DiNozzo?" he asked. Dabi nodded. The doctor handed her something in a clear plastic bag. "He wanted you to have this. He said to make sure you got them and to tell you, '_Fight. Don't let the bastards win_.'" He gave her a sad look and said, "I'm sorry for your loss."

And he walked away.

It was stainless steel tags that hung on a ball chain necklace. As always, there were two of them that were identical, with the second tag hanging on a smaller chain attached to the first one. There was a third tag, though, and this one was done differently. On one side was the Marine Corps logo. On the other side appeared to be a prayer of sorts.

_Joshua 1:9 I will be strong and courageous. I will not be terrified or discouraged; for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go._

Dabi took the tags out of the bag and studied them, watching the metal glint in the artificial lighting.

Then the tears came. Gibbs wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly while fighting back tears of his own before giving up. _Rule 21: sometimes it's okay to cry, especially if you're grieving_.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Gibbs's phone rang several times before it registered.

"Yeah, Gibbs," he said hoarsely, trying to clear his throat.

"_It's Callen. We've got information for you_," said Special Agent G. Callen, calling from Los Angeles.

"I'm listening," said Gibbs.

"_Just before things went to hell in a hand basket, we came across a name; an enforcer by the name of Louie Harrus, formerly known as J-Man. Took us a while to find him but we got him_," said Callen.

"Okay."

"_He works for Arboreal Omen_," Callen continued, "_and he helped start this whole mess by going after another import company. When they wouldn't play ball, he sent the shooters after the family that owned the company for a drive-by shooting. That was the shooting that Dabi was originally involved in_."

"He talk?"

"_He sang like a canary on drugs. Arboreal Omen is definitely in Hawaii and using Hawaii as a jump point to Japan and China to help export his weapons_." There was a smirk in Callen's voice. "_And the best part? We confirmed that the leak came from inside the Governor's office. Someone there has ties to Omen. Who, he didn't know, just some guy who knew his way around the law_."

"A lawyer, or a lawyer's aide," Gibbs guessed.

"_And Governor Denning has at least five lawyers and twice as many lawyer aides_," said Callen. "_We're running them now. Any word on Dabi?_"

"We found her; she's safe with me now," said Gibbs.

Callen sighed in relief. "_Good. I'll let the others know. We were all worried about her; she's a good kid._"

"That she is," said Gibbs, looking down at his daughter, who was snuggled against him, her eyes staring blankly at nothing. He hung up but before he could put his phone away, it went off again. This time it was Abby.

"_You found her! Eric says you found her and she's safe!_" Abby shrieked in his ear, causing him to wince and hold the phone away from his ear.

"Yes, Abby, she's safe, but she's hurting pretty bad," Gibbs cautioned. "A friend of hers just died in surgery. His name was Corporal Tyler Jarvis and he was a former Marine suffering from PTSD. Find out what you can about him, okay?"

Abby went quiet. "_Sure, Gibbs. For Dabi, sure. Do you need us to come?_"

"Yeah, I do. Put DiNozzo on the line, will ya?"

There was some shuffling in the background and then Tony's voice came through.

"_What's up, Boss?_" Tony asked.

"Get the team on the next flight down here. Callen's people just uncovered evidence that said the leak originated from Governor Denning's office and may possibly have connections to the law as a lawyer or lawyer's aide. Omen is going down and this time the bastard is staying down." Gibbs was deadly serious. "We work with Five-0. This is their territory, but you and everyone else pulls in every favor you've got, even if it's years old. You hear me?"

"_Hearing you loud and clear, Boss_," said Tony. There was no joking in his voice, no movie quips, no smart remarks, nothing; he was as serious as he knew Gibbs was. It was time to go hunting.

"Bring Abby with you if you have to, but get down here, today!"

"_Already working on it, Boss_," said Tony. "_See you in a few hours_." And he hung up. A shadow fell over him and he looked up; it was Chin. He lifted his shoulder enough to get Dabi's attention and she looked up, blinking her eyes.

"I heard about your friend, and I'm sorry for your loss," said Chin.

Dabi nodded. "Thank you. So what happens next?" she asked. "I don't know what happened to Jonesey or the others and I'm guessing the bad guy in all this is still out there."

"Jonesey is fine; the doctors say he'll recover. Mika, Julie, and Tommy have all headed back to the camp site. They told me to tell you to take care of yourself and that none of this was your fault," said Chin.

Dabi smiled tiredly. "Yeah. Sure. Right."

"Got word from some mutual friends of ours; Omen got in to Hawaii because of a legal connection through the governor's office," said Gibbs. "Don't know who, but they're running names now."

"That probably explains why we've been having so much trouble getting that warrant for that plane," said Chin. "We trace who had their fingers on that warrant, we may be able to figure out who the contact is."

"My team is on their way here," said Gibbs. "They've been told to work with your people as this is your territory and to call in every favor they can. Omen goes down."

"I'll let Steve know," said Chin. He glanced at Dabi and said, "You look like you could use a shower and some clean clothes. Danny pulled a favor with his ex-wife and got you some clean clothes. You're a bit taller than she is, but some of her stuff should fit, especially in the waist. You can go to Steve's place and have a shower if you want; his mom is expecting you."

"How is Steve's mom supposed to stop someone like Omen from getting to me?" Dabi asked.

"Doris is an ex-CIA agent and not going to be the only dead shot there," said Chin, a grin on his face. "Steve's girlfriend, Lieutenant Catherine Rollins, is with Naval Intelligence and a pretty good shot herself."

"I could use a shower," Dabi admitted. "It would be nice to clean up a bit. Not much I can do here, anyway." She looked up at Gibbs and asked, "What about Eric? Does he know what's going on?"

"He does," Gibbs replied. "And so do your grandparents. They're all worried about you but I have no doubt they've been told by now that you're safe."

Dabi nodded. Then, "Where's my phone?"

Gibbs smirked. Yup; that was Dabi. She never went anywhere without her cellphone. Tony used to joke that it was practically glued to her hip. "It's with my gear back at the hotel room. As soon as I can, I'll get it for you."

"Good. It has some pictures on it that are priceless and I want to go through them. Maybe they'll help me remember some things."

Steve McGarrett's place turned out to be right on a beach leading to the ocean and if Dabi could have fallen in love with a place, it would have been Steve's place. While Gibbs checked out the grounds and the guards roaming the place, Doris McGarrett took one look at Dabi and hustled her into the bathroom.

"You don't need a shower, dear, you need a hot bath that involves every sweet-smelling soap, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash you can get your hands on, and it has nothing to do with your odor. Bubble bath is a girl's best friend, especially after the kind of events you've had," said Doris. As the water ran, she dug around in the linen cupboard, handing bottles to Dabi as she chattered away. "I have a coconut shower cream you'll absolutely love; it's from the Body Shop. Ooh, _Blue Corn Three in One Deep Cleansing Scrub Mask_, fabulous stuff. Can't forget about my personal favorite body moisturizer, _Moringa Milk Body Lotion_. And that's just for the skin and your face. Can't forget about the hair. Ah! _Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition_. Knew I bought that stuff for a reason!" She dug around some more before giving a triumphant yelp. "Knew that stuff was around here somewhere!" _That stuff_ was a bottle of Citrus Bloom Bubble Delight Bubble Bath from Avon. She grinned at Dabi, who was blinking at her almost owlishly. "Steve hates it when I do that but I love finding all the sweet-smelling stuff, especially since he introduced me to his girlfriend, Catherine."

Dabi didn't know what to think or even what to say. Doris was unlike anyone she could ever remember encountering. Before she could formulate a reply, she was being shoved towards the bathroom again, and told not to come out until her skin was wrinkled good and proper.

As she washed her hair, someone slipped in a bottle of Tattoo Goo. She remembered seeing some pretty cool looking tattoos on Steve's arms, which would explain why the bottle looked a bit old. Neither the less, it was appreciated.

When Dabi finally emerged from the bathroom nearly an hour later, feeling clean and refreshed and wearing capris and a nice tank shirt that had been a donation from Danny's ex-wife, Rachel Edwards, it was to the smell of cooking food. Her stomach rumbled; she was hungry.

Gibbs was gone but Catherine Rollins and Doris were in the kitchen. A gun could be seen poking out of the back of Catherine's pants.

"Your dad said he'd be back later; apparently someone managed to catch one of the guys that had gone after the people at that camp and he wanted in on the interrogation," said Catherine.

"Hope someone remembers his primary rule about interrogation," said Dabi, a memory coming to mind.

"What's that?" Doris asked, stirring something in a pot.

"Never, ever bother him in interrogation. If I remember right, Tim McGee did it once, and that was the last time he ever did it," said Dabi. "To quote him, the first time was the last time."

Both women smirked.

"You seem bothered about something, though," said Catherine, watching Dabi go quiet.

"Dad said Eric, my boyfriend, knew about what was going on. Problem is, when I couldn't remember him, I made out pretty heavily with another guy," Dabi admitted. "I don't know what to do now."

Doris glanced at Catherine, who glanced at her.

"Do you still care about Eric?" Catherine asked.

"I don't know. Right now I have so much stuff going through my head that I don't know what to think," Dabi admitted.

"Then don't say anything to Eric about this other guy for now. Keep it to yourself until you know how your relationship with Eric is going to work out," Doris advised. "You're young. People change, and I think, after this, you may find you have changed quite a bit."

"I just hope it's someone I can live with," Dabi mumbled.

Doris smiled. "Somehow, sweetheart, I don't think that'll be a problem."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

It was late at night. Gibbs had gone back to the hotel room he was staying at after checking in with Dabi and assuring himself and his team, again, that Dabi was fine.

Steve was back, having crashed on the couch with Catherine, with Dabi reluctantly taking his bed. It was large, comfortable, and he even let her keep her knife under the pillow, encouraging it, in fact, especially when he saw it. When he found out who the knife had come from, he admitted to knowing the two men.

"Good guys," he said. "I owe Sam a steak."

"If this keeps up, I'm going to be owing the entire NCIS SOP team bakery goods," Dabi grumbled.

Now, Dabi found herself downstairs, unable to sleep. Thoughts kept going through her head, thoughts and memories.

Going into the kitchen, she heated herself a cup of coffee and snitched a pen and pad of paper from Steve's desk before settling down at the kitchen table, knife clipped to her sleep shorts.

A sleepy Steve wandered in. "Can't sleep?" he asked the teen.

She shook her head. "Sorry. Too much going through my head."

"That's okay. Sometimes I have trouble sleeping at night."

"Feels like the calm before the storm," she admitted.

"It does," he admitted, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He watched as she fiddled with the pen, having scribbled down various notions on the pad. "What are you thinking about?"

"I can't remember what happened to me at the parking lot with Quinn, Sam's wife. I know there was a fight and Dad said Quinn said the only reason I stopped fighting was because someone hit me with a tranquilizer," said Dabi. "They found the syringe and my purse, which also had my phone. They didn't even try and take Gibor, my dog."

"Do you remember anything about the airport?" Steve asked.

Dabi rubbed her temple. "I think I do. I remember some guy hitting me because I kicked him in the goolies. He wasn't too happy about that. He had a ring on the hand that hit me."

"Possible DNA evidence if you can remember what he looked like," he said, watching as she made a note of that on the pad.

"I remember seeing a guy in the shadows. He looked familiar, like someone I'd seen before." She wrote down two names, one above the other. _Arboreal Omen_ and _Aaron Belmore_. "I remember talking to someone about this guy. He's important, but I can't remember why."

She looked at Steve. "Who was the guy I killed at the airport? The one who tried to hurt me? Dad said you guys found him dumped in an area that was different from where I know I left him."

Having seen the final report from Max, Steve knew the answer. "A low-life by the name of Carl Thames. According to his jacket, he won't be missed."

"He will be, just not by anyone he hurt," said Dabi.

As Steve got up to raid the cookie jar, Dabi studied her notes. Her brow furrowed as she noticed something. The letters in _Aaron Belmore_ and _Arboreal Omen_ were the same, just in a different order... the guy at the airport... the way the others had treated him... _oh my god!_

"Son of a bitch!" Dabi yelled.

Steve nearly slammed the lid of the cookie jar on his hand in surprise and he spun around, ready for a fight, only to see Dabi staring at the notepad with an incredulous look on her face. She looked up at Steve, her eyes going eager.

Catherine charged into the kitchen, her gun ready, only to stop when she realized there was nothing wrong.

"What's going on?" she asked Steve, who shrugged his shoulders in confusion.

"We've got him! Dad said no one's ever seen Arboreal Omen, but I have! I know what that miserable bastard looks like and I know why no one's ever seen him! His name isn't Arboreal Omen, it's Aaron Belmore! Aaron Belmore is an anagram for Arboreal Omen!" Dabi said excitedly. She shoved the notepad towards Steve, who looked at it, his own eyes going wide. Catherine studied the letters and swore she felt her heart stop. "What better way to run a business as deadly and illegal as gun running? You create a fake personality and everyone deals with and blames that personality and leaves you alone to work behind the scenes! It makes perfect sense! Eric, the IT guy in L.A., said Belmore pretty much lived off the grid, with an account that got a regular paycheck from some company that was a shell of a shell of a shell of another company, possibly one that tied back to Omen!"

Dabi was right; it made perfect sense, Steve realized. "That's why he's so determined to find you; because he's worried you might have figured this out."

"That also explains why no one's ever actually seen Omen, because he doesn't actually exist!" said Catherine. "You can't capture a guy who doesn't exist!"

"But Aaron Belmore does! He's the real mastermind behind the organization!"

"Get your dad, tell him everything you just told me," said Steve. He headed back to the living room to grab his cell phone just as his mother came down the stairs.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"Yeah, it took a teenage girl to see what was right in front of us the whole blasted time," said Steve, hitting speed-dial on his phone to call Danny. "We have a new lead on the Arboreal Omen case and the best part? A witness, one who may help us finally bring down one of the biggest weapons organization currently running."

Doris smiled. "Amazing how a change of perspective can change a case, isn't it?" she asked.

A few hours later Gibbs, Dabi, and the Five-0 team were at Headquarters, with the exception of Chin, who was picking up the newly arrived NCIS team from the airport. During the night, more information had come in.

"NCIS in L.A. ran names of the lawyers and legal aids connected to Governor Denning's office," said Kono. "They found something interesting; there's a private account under Governor Denning's office and appears to have had Omen's fingers in it. The account has had several deposits from one of Omen's shell companies, deposits that number in the fifteen-thousand range. The most recent one was just before Gibbs' cover was blown at _Tall-Tree Custom Furnishings_." Kono pulled up a file photo of the lawyer. "Only one person has access to that account and it's this fellow, Shane Carpenter, who specializes in international law."

"Which means he'd know about the loopholes in the laws regarding weapons being sent overseas," said Danny.

"Do you recognize him, Dabi?" Gibbs asked.

Dabi shook her head.

"That's okay. Governor Denning has agreed to let us meet all the lawyers and legal aids. You'll come with us and if you see anyone familiar, you let us know," said Steve.

There was a shriek from behind them and everyone but Dabi spun around. A girl with black hair in goth clothes had just seen Dabi and now she was running as fast as she could in her platform boots towards her. It was Abby Sciuto and right behind her were Special Agents Tony DiNozzo, Tim McGee, and Ziva David. Behind the group, wearing an amused grin on his face, was Chin.

Dabi was nearly tackled to the floor by Abby and caught by Tim and Tony. Abby was babbling so fast that Dabi couldn't read her, and Tony and Tim and even Ziva were talking to her. Danny saw the panicked look on her face and, glancing at Gibbs, managed to extract the girl from the over-eager group.

"I know you guys are eager to talk to her and I'm sure you have a lot to say, but she's been through a lot over the past few days," Danny said, tucking Dabi firmly behind him, much as he would his own daughter.

"Right now we have new information concerning Omen," said Gibbs.

"We finally got the warrant for the plane that was in the hangar at the airport that Dabi arrived at," said Kono.

"McGee, you, Abby, and Ziva go with Kono and Chin and scour that plane from top to bottom. I want to know every dirty little secret that plane has," said Gibbs. "I want to know where it's been, who flew it, and how long it stopped at each destination, even if was just for fuel. If it has compartments, empty them. Strip it down to the nuts and bolts if you have to, but find me something I can use against that bastard or against the lawyer that let Omen into the country."

"On it, Boss," said Tim.

Abby dug into her bag and pulled out a brightly colored woven bracelet. "Amira asked me to give this to you," she said, handing the bracelet to Dabi. "She said you were teaching her how to make bracelets like this just before you left."

Dabi accepted the bracelet, nodding. "I remember," she said. "How is she?"

"Doing good and asked me to tell you she loves you and hopes you come home soon," said Abby. "Your grandparents and Eric said the same thing."

"I remember them," said Dabi. "Bits and pieces, but I remember them."

"Ducky said it'll take time, especially with any head injury," said Ziva. "Just be patient with yourself and let the memories come."

Dabi nodded and watched as Abby, Ziva, and Tim followed Kono and Chin out.

"We are headed to the Governor's office and until Omen is captured, you are not leaving sight of any of us from now on," said Gibbs.

"Fine. I want a gun," said Dabi. "I'm tired of being shot at and not being able to shoot back."

"I have just the thing for you," said Danny. He went into his office and came back a moment later with a small black gun in a holster. "You ever use a Glock?" Dabi nodded. "This little babe is a Glock 33. It uses nine .357 caliber bullets and is known as the pocket rocket." He handed her two clips. "This should keep you happy and the bad boys away."

"Then let's go pay the Governor a visit," said Dabi, accepting the gun and quickly checking it over. Glocks were good guns and she was glad to have it.

Governor Denning was waiting for them. "I'm sorry to hear about your recent adventures in our country," he said to Dabi.

"Not as sorry as I am to have them," she replied.

"I've sent for Mr. Carpenter to explain the account," Denning said. "This should be interesting."

The doors to the meeting room opened and in walked a man wearing a pricey suit and an expensive hair cut.

"Mr. Greenwald, what can we do for you?" Denning asked.

"I was sent by Mr. Carpenter to let you know he'll be on his way shortly. There's a legal snafu he's trying to sort out," said Greenwald smoothly.

He glanced at Dabi and his eyes went wide. Dabi looked at him and memories crashed through her mind.

She saw red.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Dabi saw Liam Greenwald and memories crashed through her mind. Along with it came the rage.

"You son of a bitch!" she yelled, lunging at him, ready to pound his face into the richly tiled floor, only to find herself being grabbed by Danny and Gibbs. "You hit me! You're the one I saw at the airport! You're the one who let Arboreal Omen get past the damn radar! Which means you're just as bad as he is, you bastard!" She struggled against the two men holding her back. "Let me go! I want his neck!"

"We let her go and that ain't all she'll have," Danny grunted to Gibbs, just missing a groin hit. Both men had their hands full trying to avoid being hit by Dabi while still preventing her from attacking Greenwald.

Brought in by Dabi's yelling, guards poured into the room. One of them was a guard who was considered a giant by normal human standards, which had been the reason Denning had originally hired him.

He planted himself in front of the yelling teenage girl and gestured for the two men to let her go. What happened next was the funniest thing Tony had ever seen. He was so glad his phone had a video camera app.

Suddenly Dabi was free. In her blind rage, she didn't see the giant of a man step in front of her until she suddenly found herself in the rather undignified position of being over his huge shoulder.

Yelling angrily, she let loose a stream of curse words that would have blistered anyone's ears. She wiggled, she kicked, she pounded, but nothing was going to stop the giant from calmly taking her out of the room and down the hall, out of reach of Liam Greenwald.

He finally set her down and watched in amusement as she took a swing at his stomach, only to wind up cursing some more when her fist met rather unforgiving muscle.

"He ain't worth spending the rest of your life in jail over, Little Sister," he said.

"That son of a bitch hit me! He's the reason Arboreal Omen is in the country! And he's the one who blew my dad's cover, damn near getting him killed and me sold to the sex slave industry!" Dabi yelled, shaking her throbbing hand. "I remember him hitting me with the hand that has that damn ring on it! I want him dead!"

"And I believe you. None of us guards liked the way he looked at the girls around here, especially the younger ones," the guard soothed, "but killing him before Five-0 can work their magic means the real bad guy gets away again. I don't think you want that."

Reluctantly, Dabi had to admit the guard was right. She nodded. "I won't kill him, but I reserve the right to punch him."

The guard laughed. "I think you're going to have to get in line, Little Sister; I'm betting your papa wants a crack at him."

"Dad would rather shoot him in the ass," Dabi grumbled. She huffed, then held up her hands in surrender. "I'll behave, I promise."

As they headed back to the room, the guard introduced himself as Nahoa. His family had been on the islands as far back as they could trace their lines, which meant he understood what Owl Warrior meant; she was considered a guardian spirit warrior, like the warriors of old Hawaiian legends.

"You're a fighter and you're angry because Mr. Greenwald's hurt people, which tells me you care," said Nahoa.

"He said he was going to have fun breaking me," said Dabi. "I told him not nearly as much fun as I would kicking his ass around the room." She smirked. "Of course, that was after I kicked him in the balls and in the face when he started talking about tasting me before the buyers did."

Nahoa nodded in approval. "Nicely done, Little Sister, nicely done."

In the meeting room, Steve, Danny, Governor Denning, and Greenwald looked at Gibbs with wide eyes. "Your daughter has quite the temper, doesn't she?" said Governor Denning.

Gibbs smirked. "That was nothing. It's when she gets quiet that you need to get worried."

"Last time that happened, a Marine private wound up with crystallized honey in his engine oil, vinegar in his radiator, and cooking oil in his wiper fluid, which he found out about when he tried to get the rotten eggs off his windshield," said Tony, wincing at the memory.

"Why?" asked Steve, while Danny cringed at the mental image.

"Guy broke her best friend's heart and used her pretty badly," said Tony. "Or at least that was what Abby said, once we got the story from her."

"Right, that business with Fran and Private Vendredi," said Gibbs, smirking at the memory. There had been some serious yelling over that, as the car in question had been a nice little Mustang, but since there was no evidence to suggest Dabi or Fran's doing, neither NCIS or the local police could officially charge the girls with anything, not even public mischief or trespassing. Fortunately, Vendredi shipped out a few days later.

"I want that crazy bitch charged!" Greenwald snarled, running a shaking hand through his perfectly cut hair.

"Watch the mouth," Gibbs shot back, glaring at the man. "That crazy bitch, as you call her, is my daughter."

"And besides, what are we supposed to charge her with?" Steve asked innocently.

"She threatened me with bodily harm and attempted to do so," Greenwald shot back.

"She said she wanted your neck, which could mean anything," said Danny. "As for attempted bodily harm, well, I'm afraid there's not much we can do about that. Had she actually managed to get her hands on you, then you might have had a case. But since she didn't, then the only case you have is a bad case of ringing ears from her rather colorful cursing." He turned to Gibbs. "What language was that, by the way? Because it didn't sound like English, or at least any English I speak."

"Hebrew. Her grandparents are Jewish and she's picked up a few things from them," Gibbs replied. Both Steve and Danny nodded in understanding.

Then the door opened and in walked a much calmer Dabi, followed by the giant guard.

"I won't go after you again," she said calmly to Greenwald, "but I do formally accuse you of hitting me at the airport. I also accuse you of being involved in gun running with Arboreal Omen, otherwise known as Aaron Belmore, as well as being involved in sex trafficking and sexual assault of minors."

"Those are some pretty serious accusations," Denning cautioned her.

"I'm a pretty serious kind of girl," Dabi replied. "My DNA is on his ring, I'm sure of it. Why not test it? If I'm wrong, I'll apologize. If I'm right, he gets arrested and charged with assault."

"And, Governor, we do have evidence that says that the breach in security, the one that compromised an undercover agent's safety, it came from this office," said Gibbs.

"What sort of evidence?" Greenwald asked shrewdly.

Gibbs smiled, but it was a cold mail that didn't reach his eyes. "Evidence I am not legally obliged to share with you at this time," he said. "Until you are formally charged and in a court of law with a lawyer, I don't have to say anything except your Miranda Rights."

Steve smiled just as coldly as he snapped on a pair of black latex gloves. "The ring. Now," he said. Greenwald glared at him but no one budged. Finally, in a huff, he took off the ring and slapped it in his hand.

Before he stormed out of the room, he hissed to Gibbs, "Watch your little girl closely; accidents have been known to happen to bitches like her."

He didn't even get out the door when he found himself on the floor and heading for darkness.

"Sorry, Governor," said Nahoa calmly, "my fist slipped."

Denning sighed heavily, looking down at his unconscious legal aide. "Don't worry about it, Mr. Nahoa; accidents happen."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Charlie Fong rushed the DNA on the ring. Meanwhile, Gibbs and his people attacked the plane, along with Steve and his team and a group of eager CSU's. The plane was stripped down to the wires and the onboard computers carefully downloaded for further examination.

Dabi spent the rest of the day with Catherine and Doris. They stayed indoors and Dabi used the time to relearn how to bake. Throughout the remainder of the day she recieved text messages from Abby, her grandparents, Gibbs, Fran, and even Eric. Taking Catherine and Doris' advice, she didn't tell Eric about Tommy. She did, however, insist on a weapon of her own, and Danny let her keep the Glock he'd given her earlier.

Then Kamekona showed up, bearing fresh-cooked garlic shrimp and thick juicy burgers with barbequed pineapple slices. Dabi swore she'd died and gone to heaven, or at least her stomach did.

Night came again. So did the nightmares, and Steve once again found Dabi in the kitchen, quietly cleaning the Glock. He smiled at her and she smiled back. He understood; nightmares were a bitch. After getting some coffee, he went back into the living room, assured that, aside from the nightmares, all was well.

He was almost asleep again when Dabi appeared, gun in hand. There wsas a look on her face, one that spoke volumes. She may have been armed with a gun, but she was still, in many ways, just a kid and she needed someone willing to be a parent. Steve sat up and lifted one arm. Dabi quickly snuggled against him and he felt something begining to soak his shirt; tears.

She was just a kid caught in a big, ugly mess not of her doing. No wonder she was having nightmares, Steve thought.

That was how Doris found them the next morning.

"Isn't she a bit young for you?" Doris smirked when her son woke up. He glared at her, which didn't faze her in the slightest. "I wonder what Catherine would say?"

"Dabi had a nightmare again," Steve shot back.

When Doris handed him a cup of coffee, Dabi stirred. Then she muttered, "Budge over, you dumb mutt. For someone so small, you sure take up a lotta space."

Doris nearly choked on her coffee at the look on Steve's face. Then Dabi cracked open an eye and looked around.

"Gibor share your bed often?" Steve asked her when she looked at him.

"Frequently. Is that coffee I smell?" Dabi replied.

"I'll get you a cup," Doris offered, heading for the kitchen.

Steve's phone rang; it was Duke and he had bad news.

"_Just got a report of a suicide; guy by the name of Liam Greenwald. Word was you were investigating him?_"

"In connection with a gun runner who had kidnapped Dabi, yeah," said Steve, sighing heavily.

"_Might want to get down here; he left a pretty detailed confession_."

"I'll let the others know."

Steve and Danny visited the scene of Liam Greenwald's suicide; his desk in his condo. He had used a small pocket gun no one had even realized was registered to him, and killed himself with it. A bit messy but no mystery, as Max reported.

"I will, of course, treat it as a possible homicide, Commander, but I do believe this time it is a genuine suicide," said Max.

"What time?" Steve asked.

"Liver temperature puts time of death just after midnight," Max reported.

"Can we clear Dabi as a suspect?" Danny asked. "After all, she did threaten some serious bodily harm on our fine gentleman here, legal aide or not."

"She had a nightmare last night and wound up on the couch with me," said Steve absently.

"And here I thought she had a boyfriend already," Danny teased. He ignored the glare and continued on. "Of course, she's a bit young, but you always did favor brunettes. I mean, look at Catherine. Oh wait, better hope Catherine doesn't find out. I don't know who would have to run faster; you or Dabi."

"Are you done yet?" Steve asked sarcastically. "Because we've got a ten-page confession to go through, plus a killer to catch."

Danny wisely shut up.

At Headquarters, NCIS and the rest of the Five-0 team staggered in. It had been a long night but they had results.

"Okay, first up, Liam Greenwald is dead. He shot himself sometime last night after leaving a very detailed confession," Steve began. "That includes admitting to hitting Dabi and being kicked by her. Seems she scored a field goal." Both Tony and Tim winced; they had been on the recieving end of one of Dabi's 'field goals' one too many times. "He names names, places, and even dates. With this, we have enough to bring down Omen permanently."

"Speaking of Omen, or rather Aaron Belmore, he's been placed on the No Fly list but has lawyered up pretty heavily," said Kono.

"Please tell me the labs have something we can use," Danny begged.

"We have Dabi's DNA on that pervy legal aide's ring, which gives us cause to search his office and his home, but now that he's dead, that's a moot point," said Abby. "We also found her hair in the plane and a hidden cache of weapons and drugs."

"That alone is enough to cause serious trouble for Omen," said Tony.

"And the plane itself?" Gibbs asked.

"Registered to a shell corporation that belongs to Omen, which lists Belmore as one of its 'employees'," said Tim.

"Same with the pilots, who were paid enough to fly where told to and not ask questions about the passengers or the cargo," said Chin. "Seems the last guy who did suddenly vanished over the Atlantic."

"Can we get to him before he gets to Dabi?" Gibbs asked.

"That's the best part," said Abby. "We got his computer that he'd tried to hide on the plane, which means we also got his cell phone information (he had his address book on it). We can track him."

"Get him. I don't care how. Vance gave us a Terminate With Extreme Prejudice order from SECNAV," said Gibbs.

"Same with Denning," said Steve.

"Where is Dabi?" Ziva asked.

"Mom and Catherine took her to see the _Arizona_ and a few other crowd-heavy tourist spots. If Omen does try something, she'll stand a good chance of getting away," said Steve. "She's safe with them."

"She'd better be," Gibbs growled. "Okay, here's the way it is; get me a location. Find out where the bastard is hiding and where he's going to be. We bring him down and we make sure he stays down. Call SWAT in if you have to; we're going to need all the manpower we can get."

"We could call in the Marines, given the firepower this guy is supposed to have," Danny suggested, only half meaning it.

"Do it," said Gibbs. "He killed one of their own and Jarvis may have been a former Marine but-"

"_Once a Marine, always a Marine_," Tim, Tony, and Ziva said in union, having heard that more than once.

"Game on," said Abby, grinning.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

It turned out Arboreal Omen had a warehouse in Honolulu, conveniently situated near the shipyard docks. A twelve-hour surveillance gave them the information and evidence they needed to mount a full-scale assault.

SEAL got involved on behalf of Steve and NCIS, and the Marines got cranky when they found out about Jarvis, especially his old unit. When they found out about Dabi and Gibbs, the unit commander insisted on meeting with Dabi, who was still reeling from Jarvis' death.

Gibbs took her to the base, confident Omen wouldn't try to hit her there. He hoped the visit would help, because he knew Dabi was blaming herself for Jarvis' death.

When Master Sergeant Hollis was introduced to Dabi, he looked her up and down with a critical eye. What Dabi didn't know was that Hollis had been told about the circumstances surrounding Jarvis' death, and Dabi's involvement. He had also been told about her grief and guilt and nightmares. In his heart, he knew what he had to do and he wasn't going to enjoy it one bit.

"So you're the scrawny little thing Jarvis died for," he sneered.

Dabi looked at him, eyes going wide, then going cold. "Go fuck yourself, buster. I didn't ask for him to die. You wanted to meet me. Well, you've met me. Have a nice day." And she turned to walk away but found herself being grabbed by the arm.

When she snapped her head around to glare at him, he said, "You owe us an explanation."

Hollis had been told Dabi knew how to fight. He had been told she had a temper. In five seconds flat, he found himself dealing with both.

Reeling from the punch to the jaw she'd just given him, he looked at her.

"How's that for an explanation?" she snarled.

"Form up!" Hollis yelled. That was a pre-arranged signal for the unit to suddenly appear and gather in a circle around them.

"Dad?" Dabi yelled, looking around frantically. Had she bitten off more than she could chew this time? But Gibbs was nowhere to be seen.

"Your daddy ain't gonna help you this time, little girl," said Hollis, feeling his heart ache for her but admiring her courage for being willing to stand up to him.

"What do you want?" she demanded, unable to see a way out past the thick wall of Marines, all standing shoulder to shoulder and all ease with hands behind their backs.

"We want the truth!" Hollis demanded.

"What truth?"

"What did Corporal Tyler Jarvis say to you before he died?" Hollis barked.

"Nothing! I wasn't there!" Dabi protested, not understanding.

"What did Corporal Tyler Jarvis say to you before he died?" Hollis repeated.

"I told you, I wasn't there!" Dabi protested again.

"Yes you were!"

"No, I wasn't! I was in the Waiting Room, waiting for the doctor who was doing the surgery!"

"What did Corporal Tyler Jarvis say to you before he died?!"

Dabi's shoulders slumped, trying to understand. "He told the doctor to tell me to fight, to not let the bastards win."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Fighting!"

"I don't know. I'm still alive, so I guess that counts for something!" She looked at Hollis and the unit pleadingly. "I didn't want him to die because of me!"

"But he did. Why?"

"Because of Arboreal Omen; because he wouldn't leave me alone. I saw him; I can identify him. I tried to hurt my dad and he kidnapped me, intending to sell me on the sex slave market."

"What did Corporal Jarvis do?"

"Killed two of the guys who came looking for me at the camp that I had been hiding at. He protected me when I was trying to protect him and the others by leaving the camp."

"You're not supposed to keep Marines safe," said Hollis, his posture softening. "We fight when no one else will. We defend and we protect because we care and we believe." He smiled at Dabi. "I spoke to him the day he died, just before the second fight broke out. He believed in you. He said he reminded him of what it meant to fight for someone, not just for something. He said you showed great courage, even when you didn't know who you were."

"I don't anymore," she admitted. "I'm tired of seeing people die. I'm only eighteen."

"So honor his memory by helping make the world a better place."

"How?"

"Stop blaming yourself for what happened. He made the choice, just like we all do. And then, make sure guys like Arboreal Omen come down by always being willing to stand up."

"I'm scared."

"Good, 'cause it means you won't do something stupid." He reached out and placed a heavy hand on Dabi's shoulder, nearly causing her knees to buckle under the weight. "Tell us our mission."

She looked at him and saw the faith and the kindness in his eyes, the same faith she could see in the eyes of the other Marines. Faith in her.

"Jarvis didn't deserve to die," she found herself saying. "But he did. Not because of me, but because of a greedy monster he swore to protect me from. Your mission is simple; get Arboreal Omen and bring him down. Not just for today, not just for tomorrow, but forever! Not just for me, and not just for Jarvis, but for all the people that cold-blooded bastard ever hurt! You will be teaming up with others of your caliber. Work with them and make damn sure Arboreal Omen never gets a chance to hurt anyone else again!"

"Is that our mission, ma'am?" Hollis asked, standing to attention.

"It is!"

"You heard the lady, girls! Fall out and gear up! Omen goes down!"

"_Hoo-rah!_" was the yell before the group disbanded.

Blinking, Dabi looked at Hollis, then reached for Jarvis' dog tags that she'd been wearing since his death. "These belong to his family, not me."

"Keep 'em. Jarvis was a foster kid who nearly got lost in the system," said Hollis, stopping her from taking the tags off. "We found him, and when he saw too much, we let him go, but he never really left us."

"Once a Marine, always a Marine, as my dad always says," said Dabi, managing to crack a smile.

"Hoo-rah, ma'am. Ain't no other way."

"I know it goes against tradition, but I demand the right to serve as one of Jarvis' pallbearers," said Dabi, thinking for a moment.

"The casket is heavy," Hollis warned, not at all surprised by the request.

"I don't care. Put me at the head, if you have to, but I will help carry him," Dabi replied. "Please. He tried to protect me. The least I can do is do right by him. "

Hollis nodded. "Fair enough." He told her where and when the funeral would be and promised to send her the details she needed.

"Thank you," she said, tapping the information into her iPhone.

"No, ma'am, thank you. It's people like you who make serving worthwhile." He saluted her, she nodded, and he walked away, satisfied.

It was a fight, and an ugly one. When the smoke finally cleared, Arboreal Omen was dead. He had attempted, even at gun point, to shoot his way out, and he had lost. Sixteen bullets of various calibers had pretty much made sure of that.

"_Is it over?_" Dabi texted Gibbs, having gone shopping with Catherine, Doris, Rachel, and Abby,

"_For Omen, yeah. For you, kiddo, it's just the beginning. It's time to stop fighting and start healing._"

"_I want to go home_," Dabi texted.

"_That sounds good,_" Gibbs replied.

"_But first, I have a funeral I have to attend. For Jarvis. I told Sergeant Major Hollis I wanted the right to serve as pallbearer for him and he agreed._"

"_I understand._"

"_While you were out punching it up with Omen, Abby, Catherine, Rachel, and Doris took me shopping. I have an outfit that is proper for the funeral, I hope_."

"_You hope?_"

"_I found a long black military jacket, like from Colonial times._"

"_:) A military jacket at a military funeral. That's perfect_."

"_It's goth-style._"

"_It's you, and it's the thought that counts_."

In keeping with tradition, Jarvis received a Marine military funeral, with his unit as pallbearers and Dabi right beside them. Dabi wore a white aristocrat blouse with ruffled collar and sleeves, black slim-fit pants, black and brown riding boots, and a long black and silver military coat she'd found at a gothic store, thanks to her friends, who had been more than happy to help. It was an unusual outfit, but it was formal enough for the funeral, and besides, Hollis thought, smiling. Jarvis probably would have liked it as it looked like she'd stepped right out of a history book.

When the funeral ended, Dabi left with the casket flag, which had been presented to her, much to her shock.

Then it was time to go home. There were a lot of hugs, a lot of e-mail addresses exchanged, and a very heated kiss from Tommy, who had shown up at the funeral, along with the rest of the camp that Dabi had stayed at. She had been relieved to see that Jonesey would be okay. He would be sore for some time, but he would be okay, and that was what mattered.

As the plane took off, Danny watched it. "That girl has a lot of healing to do," he commented. "Hope she makes it."

"Wonder if we'll see them again," said Kono.

"I hope so. They're good people," said Chin.

"Yeah, they are," said Steve. He had a sour look on his face.

"And your problem is what?" Danny asked.

"I had a rematch with Dabi."

"Yeah. And?" Kono asked, grinning.

"I want another one!" Steve demanded.

"Did she kick your ass?" Danny asked hopefully.

"No, but she did kick," Steve admitted.

"That explains why you've been limping," said Danny gleefully. "Does this mean I'll actually get to drive my car?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"_Hearts are not made of tempered steel. I guess her heart needs time to heal_," or so the song went.

Dabi was back home, but she had changed. Gibbs could see it and so could everyone else. Even Eric didn't quite know what to make of the new Dabi, to the point he found himself starting to distance himself from her, not that she really cared. Her attitude rapidly became that if he couldn't handle her at her worst, then he certainly didn't deserve her at her best. Tony, Tim, and Abby began making bets about how long it would take before Dabi finally walked away from the young man.

She took a semester break from school on the grounds of post traumatic stress, which the college had accepted. She began working regular shifts at the bakery and even more regularly out at the gym, especially with her new favorite sport, kickboxing. Her clothing changed, and so did her make-up and her general appearance. Even her personality changed, becoming withdrawn and contemplative. When she worked, she worked hard. When she played, on the rare occasions that she did, it was almost as if she was exploring.

Those who knew her, who loved her, they worried.

"What do I do, Duck?" Gibbs asked the medical examiner one night. "I know she has to work her way through this, but I wish I could do something for her."

Ducky smiled, but it was a smile tinted with sadness. "Dabi has a good heart but you know yourself that such a heart has taken quite the beating for such a young age. Give her time. Leave the door unlocked and a light in the window and remember what J.R. Tolken once said."

"And what's that?"

"That not all who wander are lost. Dabi will find her own way in time, Jethro. Trust her, as I once trusted you, and as you once trusted others in similar situations."

"_I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together._" Marilyn Monroe

The End... for now...


End file.
